Mitch Winehouse has accused two former friends of his late daughter Amy of secretly selling her personal belongings and profiting from auctions worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, the High Court has heard.
The case centres on stylist Naomi Parry and close friend Catriona Gourlay, who are alleged to have “deliberately concealed” they sold dozens of Winehouse’s items at major auctions in the United States.
Lawyers for Mitch, who administers the singer’s estate, told the court the pair had not informed him of the sales despite claiming ownership of items linked to Amy’s career and final performance.
Amy Winehouse died from alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27.
Late singer Amy Winehouse and her father Mitch in 2006
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The case relates to auctions held in 2021 and 2023, where sources say items linked to the Back to Black star raised large sums for the sellers.
One of the most valuable pieces was a silk mini-dress worn in Amy’s final performance in Belgrade, Serbia.
Ms Parry is said to have auctioned the dress for 243,200 US dollars (£182,656).
Barrister Henry Legge KC said in court papers that Mitch initially believed all 834 items listed for sale in the 2021 catalogue belonged to the estate.
Amy Winehouse
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He now claims the two women asserted ownership over more than 150 of them.
Lawyers for the estate argue Ms Parry was “instrumental” in persuading the father to agree to the 2021 auction while allegedly failing to disclose that she personally stood to gain from the sale.
They also pointed to a text reportedly sent to Ms Parry by auction organiser Darren Julien after the sale, which read: “I do think he will go a little nuts when he realises all the big pieces were yours.”
Figures presented in court allege that Ms Parry sold around 50 items for $878,183 (£682,000), while Ms Gourlay sold around 90 items totalling $334,113 (£259,000).
Mitch Winehouse has accused two former friends of his late daughter Amy of secretly selling her personal belongings
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Both women then took part in a second auction in May 2023.
Giving evidence on Monday, Mr Winehouse told the court: “I assume that, being so close, Amy would have given them some things, but 150 items, I just cannot believe it.”
However, both Ms Parry and Ms Gourlay are defending the claim, arguing the items were either already owned by them or were gifted by the singer during their friendship.
In written submissions, Ms Parry’s lawyer said many of the disputed items had been in her possession since before Winehouse’s death and that some had only ever been “loaned by Amy”.
Ms Gourlay’s legal team argued she believed selling the items was “what Amy would have wanted”.
Barrister Ted Loveday, for Ms Gourlay, said the women shared belongings from the early 2000s and that Winehouse was known for “extravagant acts of generosity” after her rise to fame.
Amy Winehouse died from alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011 at her home in Camden, north London at the age of 27
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He accused Mr Winehouse of assembling the case in a “thoughtless and uncritical way” and being motivated by reputational concerns rather than facts.
He argued the claim originally concerned 156 items, but that Mr Winehouse has since abandoned part of it.
The trial, before Sarah Clarke KC, is expected to conclude later this week.